WorldStage Newsonline– Huge surcharges imposed by Hapag-Lloyd, a German container shipping company and some international shipping firms are brewing anger among Importers in Nigeria’
Other shipping firms that had earlier slammed surcharge on Nigerian bound cargoes include CMA CGM and Maersk Shipping.
The importers are said to be groaning under on cargoes imported into the country from across the world.
Specifically, for over nine months, Hapag-Lloyd since December 15, 2019 till till further notice was said to have imposed a revised Peak Season Surcharge (PSS) on Tin Can Island and Apapa ports in Lagos.
The surcharge was said to be adding to the high cost of doing business in Nigerian ports, coupled with the challenges of infrastructure deficiency and cumbersome shipping process at the nation’s gateway.
For over nine months, a shipping firm- Hapag-Lloyd has imposed a revised Peak Season Surcharge (PSS) on Tin Can Island and Apapa ports in Lagos.
A source told WorldStage that about $1025 surcharge was slammed on 20 feet (ft) and 40ft containers on cargoes coming from United States and US territories, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau while charges from cargoes from the rest of the world were also pegged at $1025 or EUR 930 accordingly.
The charges were said to be different from the ocean tariff rates as well as bunker-related surcharges, security-related surcharges, terminal handling charges, among others that shore up the cost of shipping in Nigeria.
Sources quoted the Chairman, Shippers Association Lagos State, Jonathan Nichol bemoaned the shipping costs, expressing the group’s readiness to take it up with appropriate agencies.
Nichol was quoted as saying that the surcharge could be linked to congestion at Lagos ports, but it is uncalled for, considering the negative effect of COVID-19, “we will certainly induce discussions on this with the Shippers Council”.
He stressed the need to review the costs of shipping in Nigeria, noting that “importers hardly make profit” due to excessive charges.
Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Shippers Council, Hassan Bello was also quoted to have described the charges as economic sabotage, saying the Council is moving vehemently against the action of the shipping firm.
Bello said: “We are protesting against it vehemently. There was no notice to us and the shippers that the charge was imminent. From our intelligence these charges are over $1,000. It is discriminatory. It is insensitive. Just when the Nigerian economy is recovering a little bit from the effect of COVID-19, it is insensitive for anybody to slam such charges of over $1,000 on Nigeria’s trade.
“It is discriminatory because it is not happening in Togo, Benin or Ghana, why should it be in Nigeria. “We have written a strong letter to the shipping association of Nigeria and we also wrote to their principals overseas, because this is not a local charge.
“Why should Nigeria be the recovery ground for shipping companies? We have three lines of action on the internal level; we are going to call on the Union of Africa’s Shippers’ Council; Global Shippers’ Association and Global Shippers Forum. “On the national level, we are rallying round the organized private sector, I am already in talk with Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), I will talk to Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, as well as big time shippers like Dangote and Nigerian Breweries among others.
“We should all come together and fight against this unnecessary charges. The charges are unilateral and arbitral and we are going to protest against it because it is economic sabotage. It goes deep into Nigeria’s economy recovery. It is against our resolve to recover from the effect of COVID-19,” he said.
President, Importers Association of Nigeria, Kingsley Chikezie was also quoted to have lamented that importers were not happy about the additional charges from the shipping firm, even at a time they were complaining about high cost of shipping at the ports.
Chikezie said a lot of things were happening at the ports including the issue of transfer charges among others, appealing to the authorities to ensure urgent review of the charges.
However, some industrialists whom were severely affected by the surcharge burden have urged the Federal Government to institute litigation against the erring shipping firm for operating against the rule of trade facilitation agenda of International Maritime Organisation (IMO) during the pandemic period.
The Managing Director of WellWaters Resources, Mr. Ogunlade Olabisi, called on the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to intervene on the issue. “I think there is need for the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection to take up legal action against the shipping firm.
The source said the agenda of the shipping firm was self-serving and profiteering, which is in contradiction of the trade facilitation rule.
